Green Valley Project Is 'Money Down The Drain'

Editor:

Letter-writer Gordon Metcalf's remark that "progressive town council majority was voted into office by supporters of the town of Payson" (Aug. 14 Roundup) is not really correct. The last election consisted of about 35 percent of the registered voters. About 16 percent of them voted for the new, present council members and the mayor. They consisted mostly of real estate agents and developers and their cohorts.

This is why there should be a big push for 100-percent participation of the registered voters to vote during next year's election. We must remove these members before the town is totally broke financially or a big tax increase is pushed onto the residents.

Money? Recently Green Valley/Main Street director Karen Greenspoon wrote a well-written letter to the editor defending that project. Indeed she should have. She is on the payroll. She attempted to justify that $3- to $5-million investment because it is not costing the residents of Payson much money.

Ms. Greenspoon, money wasted is money down the drain. Dump the Green Valley/Main Street Project most residents are not excited about it.

It appears that about 50 percent or more of the Valley residents who come to Payson do not really want to come to Payson. They are trapped in the traffic jams because this is the shortest way to Winslow or Holbrook and the I-40 Freeway or to the forest campgrounds. They spend little money in Payson.

Payson should stop the "payola" being paid to the Main Street businesses and residents in an attempt to talk them into going along with the Green Valley/Main Street development.

That money and the millions of dollars planned for this development would be better spent as "payola" to ADOT to push for the southeast bypass road.

That should connect the Beeline just south of the casino and rejoin Highway 260 east of Star Valley. Then the travelers who do not want to come to Payson and the truckers could go on their merry way and the real tourists and visitors would come to Payson and really enjoy themselves and spend their money freely.

A word of caution to the residents living east of the Beeline: Unless this bypass road is quickly built, it will only be a matter of time before the pass-through traffic will be turning onto Phoenix Street and travel Mud Springs Road and join Highway 260 when it is completed. They will make their own bypass road.